Too much too Young
by lozza1989
Summary: Tee is Diagnosed with an incurable Brain Tumor and the residents of Elmtree house have to support her in every way they can. How will Tee cope with her illness and how will Johnny cope with the fact that he is going to lose his sister?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

It was a hot and sunny Saturday morning and the Dumping ground residents where taking their yearly trip to the seaside and that particluar morning, Tee felt like she had a migraine coming on but she wasn't going to let it spoil her day.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Johnny asked after he noticed her looking a little off colour " you don't look well."

"I'm fine Johnny, it's just a headache, I'll be fine" Tee insisted as they climbed onto the mini bus. As she buckled herself in, Tee felt a sharp stabbing pain in her head but it went away a few minutes later and decided to ignore it.

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Mike asked and all the kids shouted yes before he got in the driver's seat and started the engine. As they got half way up the motor way, Lily and Carmen had noticed that Tee wasn't looking well and they asked her if she was alright.

"I'm fine, I've jsut got a head ache that's all" she insisted.

"You should have stayed at home if you wern't feeling well' Carmen suggested " you look awful."

"Well I'm not going to let a stupid headache stop me from going to the beach" Tee insisted "it'll probably go away later." She was wrong however because by the time they arrived at the beach, her headache seemed a whole lot worse than it was before and when she got off the mini bus, a wave of dizziness came over her and she stumbled to the ground. Mike and Gina rushed over to her and helped her up, both of them looking concerned for her.

"Do you want to go back on the bus and lie down for a while babes?" Gina asked her.

"Will every one stop fussing over me, I'm fine alright" Tee snapped "now can I please enjoy this day out without any one fussing over me, I'm not a baby." Mike and Gina were both shocked that Tee had snapped at them like that, it wasn't like her, she had never snapped at them like that before.

"She's probably having a bit of a bad day, she might feel better once she gets some seaside air into her lungs" Mike suggested.

"Well I hope you're right because i'm really concerned about her you know, she doesn't look well at all" Gina pointed out. During the day, the Dumping ground residents visited various arcades, shops, went to the theme park and Tee was trying her best to join in but she found she didn't have the energy, she just wanted to lay down and go to sleep plus her headache seemed a lot worse than it did that morning. After they visited a few more arcades, they went down to the beach with fish and chips. Tee was sitting with Carmen and Lily who were beginning to get concerned for their friend.

"Are you sure you're alright, you haven't been yourself today" Lily pointed out.

"I'm not sure, I thought I would be" Tee replied, almost in tears as the pain in her head became unbearable " I thought it would go away, the headache but it seems to be getting worse and everything's blurry."

"What do you mean?' Carmen asked " what do you mean everything's blurry?"

"I can't see anything probably" Tee sobbed "my head really hurts and i'm scared." Just then, both Lily and Carmen noticed that Tee was having a nosebleed and that her eyes were beginning to roll into the back of her head.

"Carmen, go get Mike and Gina now" Lily yelled as Tee collapsed onto her. Carmen got up and raced over to Mike and Gina just as Tee began to have a seizure in front of Lily.

"Tee, Tee what's happening, are you okay?" Lily screamed as Carmen returned with Mike and Gina.

"What's wrong with her?" Gina asked as Tee continued to convulse violently.

"We don't know" Lily replied, her voice shaking " she said her head was really hurting her and that she couldn't see probably, then she started getting a nosebleed and she passed out, then she started having a fit." It wasn't long before the rest of the kids realized that something was going off and ran over to see what it was.

"TEE" Johnny yelled when he noticed the state his little sister was in 'WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?"

"We don't know Johnny but we've called an ambulance and they're going to take her to hospital to find out what's wrong with her" Mike explained. Tee had now stopped convulsing but was now unconscious and twitching a little. Gina was kneeling beside her, stroking her forehead and reassuring her that everything was going to be ok. About half an hour later, Mike, Gina and the kids were sat in the waiting room whilst Tee had been taken in for tests and Johnny was pacing up and down, worried out of his mind.

'I hope it's nothing serious" Rick pointed out.

"Why was Tee shaking?" Harry asked.

"It's because she was poorly" Faith told him " but she's here now and the Doctor's are going to make her better."

"I knew there was something wrong with her this morning" Johnny pointed out " I could see it in her eyes but she insisted she was fine." He gave up pacing and collapsed onto one of the plastic chairs.

"She was probably putting on a brave face" Mike reassured him " you know how excited she was about this day out, she didn't want whatever was wrong with her to stop her from having this day out."

"Do you think it's serious?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know mate, it's up to the Doctor's to find out" Mike explained "they need to do tests on her to find out what's wrong." A couple of hours had passed by and a doctor came out to inform them that Tee was now going to go for an MRI scan.

"Why, what's wrong?" Mike asked.

"We're not sure quite yet but we think Theresa has a growth on her brain, possibly a tumor" he explained.

"WHAT?' Johnny yelled "SHE CAN'T HAVE."

"Calm down Johnny" Mike said "they haven't said she has a tumor, they just need to take her for a scan to see what's causing her headache. It might not be a tumor, it's probably something else." Calming down, Johnny nodded and asked when Tee was going to go for a scan.

"Soon, you can go and see her if you like but you're only allowed to take one person because we only allow two visitors at a time in the MRI ward" the Doctor explained. Johnny nodded and asked Mike if he would come with him.

"I'm not going anywhere, i'm staying right with you and Tee" Mike reassured him. The Doctor then took him and Johnny to the MRi ward where Tee was in a room, waiting to go for her scan. She was now conscious but looking very exhausted.

"Johnny" she smiled weakly as her brother walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Hey there kiddo" Mike said, giving her hand a small squeeze " you gave us all a big scare back there at the beach."

"I'm so sorry for ruining everyone's day out" she said weakly.

"Hey , it's not your fault" Mike reassured her " hows your headache?"

"Still hurts but not as much because they gave me some pain killers to ease it" Tee replied.

"Do you remember anything that happened before you blacked out?" Johnny asked.

"I remember sitting on the beach talking to Lily and Carmen then the next minute I'm lying in a hospital bed with loads of Doctors and Nurses around me, shining lights in my eyes and stuff" she replied "they said I've got to go for a scan to see if I've got a tumor or something."

"Hopefully it won't be, it could be a severe migraine or something" Mike reassured soon, they came to take Tee down for her scan and it was clear she was terrified about having one in case it was bad news but Mike reassured her that everything was going to be fine.

"You won't leave me will you?" she begged, holding onto Mike's hand " I don't want to go down there on my own."

"We'll be right with you" Mike said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"yeah, we're not going anywhere" said Johnny. Tee was then wheeled into the scan room and placed on the scanning machine whilst Mike and Johnny stood in the next room, watching from a window. There was a speaker phone on the wall so that they could hear Tee speaking to them and that Tee could hear them speaking to her.

"Okay Theresa, I need you to lie completely still for me okay, we're just going to do take some photos of inside your head to see what's been causing your headaches" the doctor told her.

"I'm really scared, I want to go home" Tee sobbed.

"I know you do but the doctor's just need to find out what's wrong with you that's all so they can make you better, okay?" Mike told her.

"Okay" Tee said with a nod.

"Good girl" Mike replied. He and Johnny then watched as she moved under the large scanner and the Doctor looked at the computer screen. It showed various picture's of her brain and they could see a black splodge the size of a golf ball.

Well it appears that Theresa has a Tumor on the frontial lope of the brain" the doctor explained as he looked at the scan.

"But, you can operate can't you, you can remove it?" Johnny asked hopefully.

"Well it depends" the Doctor pointed out.

"On what?" Mike asked.

"On how serious it is, I'll need to run some more tests to see on whether we can remove the Tumor" the doctor explained.

"And if not?" Mike asked.

"We'll just have to hope for the best" the Doctor explained. After her scan was over, Tee was taken back to the room she was waiting in before to await more tests to see if her Tumor was curable or not.

"Why do I have to have more tests, I thought the scanner was going to say what was wrong with me" Tee said, her voice shaking "what is wrong with me?." Mike didn't know how to explain to Tee that she possibly had a brain tumor and that they might not be able to remove it, the Eleven year old girl was already scared enough, he didn't want to scare even more.

"They still don't know yet" he lied "they just want to do more tests to find out some more information." A little while later, Mike and Johnny had to go back to the waiting room whilst they took Tee for more tests to see if her Tumor was curable or not.

"Did they find out what's wrong with her?" Gina asked when they got back.

"They reckon it could be a brain tumor" Mike explained to a shocked Gina " they're doing more tests to see if it is curable or not."

"Oh poor thing" Gina muttered "does Tee know?."

"I haven't told her yet, I couldn't" Mike replied "the poor girl was already scared enough without me telling her that she could possibly have cancer and that it might not be curable."

"Well she's going to have to find out if she does have it" Gina pointed out " otherwise she'll be wondering what's going on with all the Hospital visits, headaches and stuff.'

"I know, once we get the results, I'll tell her and reassure her that we'll be there for her, no matter what" Mike replied. A little while later, the Doctor who had been examining Tee came back to speak to the people who were held responsible for her.

"That would be me and Gina" Mike said.

"Okay and I would like to have a word with her parents as well" he pointed out.

"Tee's dad died when she was Four and we don't know where her Mum is" Mike pointed out " she lives at our care home, Elmtree house."

"Okay, if you would like to step into my office." The pair of them nodded and followed the Doctor into his inside they seated themselves at his desk and he sat opposite them with a serious expression on his face.

"We've had the test results back and I'm afraid it isn't good news" he explained "Tee has a severe brain tumor on the frontial lope and it is cancerous."

"But, surely you can fix it can't you?" Mike asked "surely you can remove it?" The Doctor looked at them both with a serious expression and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Mr. Milligan but the Tumor is too deeply embedded to be removed and we cannot cure it" he explained " we do have pills and Medication to control the cancer and prevent Theresa in being in any pain but there is nothing really more we can do for her."

"What are you saying, is she, she's not, are you saying that she's going to...die?" Mike asked, his voice shaking and the Doctor looked at him as though he was saying yes.

"Oh my god" Mike gasped "she can't die, she can't, she's just a kid, she's only Eleven years old."

"I'm sorry Mr Milligan but the Tumor is very severe and she could have months or maybe even weeks left" the doctor explained "I'm so so very sorry, there's really nothing more we can do. All you really need to do now is be there for Theresa and give her all the supports she needs, but I'm very sorry to say to you that she isn't going to make it. I'm so so very sorry." The two care workers sat in shock as they took the news in, Tee Taylor had Cancer and she was going to die.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

"But surely they're must be something that can be done" Gina pointed out after the Doctor had informed them about Tee's condition "you must have some medication that will make it go away."

"I'm sorry but there is really nothing more we can do for her, the tumor is far too severe and we cannot treat it, the best thing we can do is give Theresa all the support she needs. I suspect that you're wanting to break the news to her and to the rest of the kids" the Doctor suggested and Mike pointed out that it wasn't going to be easy telling the kids, especially Tee and especially Johnny because he didn't know how both of them woul react.

"Do you think it's best if we break the news to Tee first, she's the one who's dying" Gina suggested.

"Yeah but we're going to have to break it to her gently and reassure her that we are going to be there for her all the way" Mike replied before the two of them were taken down to Tee's room to break the news to her.

"Mike, Gina" she said happily when she saw the pair of them enter the room and sat down on the chairs by her bedside "have they found out what's wrong with me yet?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so" Mike told her and Tee could tell it was bad news by the expressions on their faces "now Tee, we don't have any easier way to say this, but the Doctor's found a tumor on your brain and it is cancerous." Tee was now shell shocked after they broke the news to her and it took her a couple of minutes to take the news in before she spoke up again.

"But they can get rid of it can't they?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry babes, they can't do anything for you" Gina told her, squeezing her hand "it's to severe to be treated."

"So are you saying that, I'm going to" Tee began to cry but found it difficult to finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry" Mike told her, almost close to tears himself, stroking Tee's face but she smacked his hand away and turned away from the pair of them and they could hear her sobbing.

"Babes, I know this must be a big shock for you" Gina told her but the distraught girl told the pair of them to leave her alone so they decided to leave Tee alone and left to tell the rest of the kids who were still waiting in the waiting room and when Mike and Gina walked in, all of them jumped up asking various questions about Tee, what was wrong with her, was she going to be ok.

"Sit down everyone" Mike told the kids and they all immedietly sat down as Gina and Mike sat opposite them "now we got the results of Tee's tests and I'm afraid it's not good nows."

"Why, what's wrong with her?" Carmen asked. Mike took a huge breath as he prepared to tell the kids about Tee's illness.

"Tee has a severe Brain tumor and it's cancerous" he told them.

"But, they'll fix it won't they?" Johnny asked "they'll be able to make her better."

"I'm sorry mate" Mike revealed, eyes watering "it's too severe."

"So, she's not going to make it?" Lily asked and Mike shook his had and explained to them that Tee had a very severe Brain tumor and that there was nothing more they could for her. Unable to bear the bad news, Johnny jumped out of his seat and ran out of the waiting area with Mike chasing after him.

"I can't believe it" Lily pointed out " poor Tee." Jody had burst into tears and Carmen put an arm around her and allowed the younger girl to rest her head on her shoulder.

"I can't believe she's dying" Said Rick " she's just a kid."

"What is a tumor?" Harry asked innocently as he clutched Jeff and Faith gentle explained to him that it was a nasty growth that gave people headaches and made them really poorly.

"So what happens now?" Tyler asked.

"Well I guess we'll just have to support her and show that we are there for her" Faith suggested.

"How long do you think she has left?" Carmen asked. The others shrugged as Mike went out of the hospital to find Johnny sitting on one of the benches outside, head in his hands and Mike walked over to the upset boy.

"I guess this must have come as a big shock to you?" he asked, sitting next to Johnny " finding out your sister's got Cancer." Johnny pulled his face away from his hands and turned to look at Mike. It had been obvious that he had been crying because his eyes were red and puffy.

"Does Tee know, have you told her yet?" He asked and Mike nodded, explaining to Johnny that he and Gina had told Tee before they came to telll him and the other kids.

"How did she take it?" the young boy asked.

"She was very upset and I think she worked out that she wasn't going to get better before me and Gina had a chance to tell her" Mike explained and without warning, Johnny completely exploded.

"SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, JUST LEAVE HER UNTIL SHE DIES" he yelled "IF THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING FOR HER THEN IT'S OBVIOUS SHE'S GOING TO DIE, HOW LONG HAS SHE GOT LEFT HUH, WEEKS, MONTHS, TELL ME."

"The Doctors aren't sure about that yet, all they know for now is that Tee has a very aggressive brain tumor and that they can't do anything for her because it's too advanced" Mike explained as he tried to calm down Johnny who had now completely broken down.

"This shouldn't have happened to her, it's all my fault, I should have protected her, I promised I would protect her and now she's dying" the thirteen year old boy sobbed "it's happening again, why did this have to happen from someone from my family again?."

"What do you mean, has someone in your family had cancer before?" Mike asked and Johnny nodded before explaining to Mike that his dad died from a brain tumor when he was six and that he had only lived for seven weeks before he died in his sleep.

"I'm so sorry mate" Mike said "but the best thing we can do for now is try and support your sister in every way we can. Now, how about we go back inside and see what Gina and the rest of the kids are up to." Johnny nodded and the pair of them headed back inside the building where Gina and the rest of the kids where still in the waiting area accompanied by the Doctor that had given them Tee's diagnosis.

"The Doctor says he wants to talk to you and Gina, he says it's about Tee's cancer and that it's very important" Gus informed Mike as he returned.

"What's this about now I thought you'd already given us Tee's test results" Mike said but the Doctor told him that he had some more information about the little girl's condition and that he needed to speak to Mike and Gina in his office.

"Why can't you tell them here, we want to know what's going to happen with Tee" Carmen piped up.

"I'm sorry but this news might be too upsetting for you all to hear" the Doctor explained.

"We want to know" Lily said bravely "Tee's our friend and we want to know what's going to happen to her."

'Okay" the Doctor began " now I assume you all know that Theresa has a severe Brain tumor and that there is nothing more we can do for her, well I did some more tests on her and I'm afraid that the tumor is slowly spreading and we don't have any medication to shrink it. Now she might be able to do the normal stuff she does for a while but Theresa will grow weaker eventually to the point where she'll be unable to walk and would have to require a wheelchair to get around" he explained.

"But how long has she got left?" Johnny asked "Tee's my sister, i want to know."

"I"m sorry, but looking at her test results and how severe the tumor is, I'll have to guess that Theresa only has at least one month left" the Doctor told them and Johnny completely broke down again as Faith got up and put her arms round him.

"I can't believe it, one month" Mike mumbled "poor thing." The Doctor then explained to them that Tee will experience severe headaches and prescribed them with medication that would ease the headaches.

"Are they're any side effects?" Mike asked.

"They'll probably make her feel sleepy but that's about it. Now we are going to keep Tee in over night for observation but you can take her back in the morning" the Doctor told him before allowing them to see Tee before they left and when they got to her room, they found the girl curled up in the hospital bed, fast asleep.

"Does she know?" Lily asked.

"Yeah" Johnny whispered " Mike and Gina told her before they told us and she took it pretty hard." After the Doctor had given them Tee's prescription for her medication and some leaflets on Information about cancer, Mike and Gina took the kids back to Elm tree house whilst Tee remained in hospital over night so that the Doctors could keep an eye on her. When they got back, Lily called Tracy to inform her of the news about Tee's illness and how she only had one month to live. Meanwhile, Johnny was in his room, kicking the walls in both hurt and anger as he was still struggling to cope with the fact that his sister was dying.

_She's just a little girl _he thought to himself as he continued to kick the walls _she's only Eleven, she's got her whole life ahead of her and now some stupid illness is going to take that away from her. _It wasn't long before mike heard all the commotion coming from the grieving boys room and rushed in to find Johnny still kicking the walls.

"Hey calm down mate, stop doing that" Mike said as he rushed over to Johnny who stopped kicking the walls and completely broke down in the care workers arms.

'It's not fair Mike, it's just not fair, first my dad and now my sister" he sobbed "she's not even a teenager yet and now she isn't going to live to be one."

"I know mate I know" Mike reassured him "but we've got to be strong for her and we have to be there for her for what time she has left."

"I don't want her to die" Johnny sobbed.

"I don't either" Mike told him " but there's nothing more the Doctors can do for her. Now for what little time she has left, we're just going to have to make the most of it." After having some time to calm down and get his head around the recent news, Johnny finally went to bed and accompanied Mike to the hospital to pick her up whilst Gina stayed behind to look after the rest of the kids. The girl was sitting on her hospital bed, wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, waiting for Mike and Johnny to pick her up and when the pair of them arrived, Mike walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I had a bad headache this morning but the Doctor's gave me some painkillers for it this morning" she replied "they explained everything to me about what's wrong with me and they told me how long I've got left." Mike could see her eyes filling up and he hugged her, picking her up off the bed like she was a toddler and not a young girl who was almost Twelve years of age.

"Well we are going to be there for you, all the way to the end" Mike told her.

"Okay but I want you to make me a promise" Tee told him.

"What is it?" Mike asked her.

"I don't want to die in a hospital, I want to die at the dumping ground, in my own room and I want you, Gina and Johnny to be there with me" she announced trying her best to sound brave but her voice was still quivering.

"Tee don't talk like that" Johnny told her but she told him that it was what she wanted.

'Are you sure?" Mike asked her.

"I'm sure, I know that they can't do anything for me and I want to die in my own bed, just like my daddy did" the sick girl announced.

"Okay if that's what you want" Mike said before hugging the seriously ill Eleven year old girl as Johnny looked on, fighting back the tears.


End file.
